For the Christian, death is not the end of our story; rather, it is the threshold to a far better world where happiness on the New Earth awaits. Much like Bilbo Baggins—aged and weary—being invited to sail from Middle-earth to the undying lands of Valinor, we look forward to a transition from a world of shrinking possibilities into an eternal realm where adventures forever expand.
The pinnacle of our resurrected lives on the New Earth will be the direct experience of seeing God. As Scripture promises, “No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. They will see his face” (Rev. 22:3–4).
Drawing from these sacred texts, ancient theologians often spoke of the “beatific vision,” a term derived from Latin meaning “a happy-making sight.” Because God is the ultimate source of all joy and exists in eternal, triune happiness, to gaze upon Him is to enter into a state of everlasting delight.
One of the greatest gifts we can give our children and grandchildren is teaching them the doctrines of the Resurrection and the New Earth. Don’t try to get children excited about becoming ghosts. God has made us to be physical beings living in a physical world—eating, drinking, playing, working, loving, worshiping, and laughing to God’s glory. That’s the promise of the Resurrection—eternal delight and joy in the presence of the God who redeemed us.
We normally think of going up to Heaven to live with God in His place. That’s indeed what happens when we die. But the ultimate promise is that God will come down to live with us in our place, on the New Earth. The final state will not be “us with God” but “God with us” (See Rev. 21:3.).
Imagine the delight of Jesus’ disciples when He said to them, “At the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel” (Matt. 19:28).
Christ did not speak of the destruction or abandonment of all things, but their renewal. The word affirms a continuity between the past, present and future earths. The old world and the renewed one are the same world but renewed and refurbished to an even greater version of its original self. God designed humans to live on Earth to his glory. Christ’s incarnation, life, death and resurrection secured a New Earth, where life will be the way God always intended.
Similarly, Peter preached that Christ must remain in heaven “until the time comes for God to restore everything, as he promised long ago through his holy prophets” (Acts 3:21). This cosmic restoration is not God bringing disembodied people to fellowship with him in a spirit realm. Rather, it’s God returning humankind to what we once were—what he designed us to be. It means the entire physical universe will not just go back to its pre-Fall glory but forward to something even more magnificent.
God’s original plan included human beings living happy and fulfilled lives. Imagine sitting around campfires on the New Earth, wide eyed at the adventures recounted. Yes, I mean telling real stories around real campfires. After all, friendship, camaraderie, laughter, stories and campfires are all good gifts from God for physical people living in a physical world … and the Bible tells us that’s what we’ll be and where we’ll be.
Perhaps an alarm is going off in your head: “But that’s unspiritual. We should only want to be with Jesus.” Well, seeing Jesus should certainly be at the top of the list. But that doesn’t mean the other things God promises shouldn’t be on the list—things that fully honor him and flow out of his grace and kindness to us.
On that New Earth, we may experience adventures that make our current rock climbs, surfing, skydiving and upside-down roller coaster rides seem tame. Why do I say this? It’s an argument from design. We take pleasure in exhilarating experiences not because of sin but because God wired us this way. We weren’t made to sit all day in dark rooms watching actors pretend to live.
The truth is, we’ll be far happier in this life if we understand it isn’t our only chance for happiness and adventure and fun … and neither is it our best chance. I’ve read books on happiness stressing that we must be happy right here and now, living in the moment, because this is all we have. But God’s people will have an eternity of present-tense happiness. This assurance of neverending happiness is capable of front-loading joy into our lives today. If we come to understand the biblical doctrine of the Resurrection and the New Earth, we’ll find it’s exactly what, deep in our hearts, we all wish for.
Jesus will be the center of everything. Happiness will be the lifeblood of our resurrected lives. And just when we think, It doesn’t get any better than this—it will!
This article originally appeared on EPM.org and is reposted here by permission.